Fading Beacon
by Enerjack
Summary: It was just one dance, right? A celebration of the graduates of Beacon. But the cast will find that this celebration posed opportunities to tie up some old strings.
1. Cardin, Cardout

Authors Note: Why is the story picture the same as my icon

They had finally done it. Years of pain, suffering, trauma.

Some nearly gave up. Some realized how hopeless it all seemed. Some just didn't want to carry such a load on their shoulders, to bear the haunting curse to fight the Grimm. But they still got through. They still managed to become the one thing they dreamed the most about as a kid.

And in the light of that color-changing dust-powered disco ball, they were all dancing. Having fun, and at the same time, they all felt something mutual.

They all felt respect. They all felt happiness.

Some felt love.

There they were, dancing with eachother, having fun just like regular teens. But they weren't the same old kids before. They were hunters, huntresses, all of them, and yet they were having the time of their lives together. Who could of known that such a bundle of once-students were now all officially graduates?

That's right.

All of them graduates. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang. Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, Ren. Even Cardin, Russel, Dove and Sky. As stated before, they all felt respect for one another. If there was a time to tie the strings, to calm the storm, now was a better time than any. And apparently, Cardin was aware of this fact.  
"This is the part where you lose."

"Over my dead-Gah!" Cardin had just parried a strike from Jaune's sword and kneed him in the stomach, knocking him back on to his behind. "No, not again!" Jaune cried. He still had his sword and shield in both hands, but Cardin was raising his club. Then, Jaune realized. An opening. He could just kick him, he was close enough. Cardin stopped raising his club, ready to strike. Having been a long grueling fight, Jaune was having difficulty, but managed to gather his strength to raise his leg and thrust it towards Cardin's groin. "Got you!"

"Too slow!" Cardin anticipated his attack, and spun his hips so that Jaune's feet landed on the armor protecting his hips. Jaune yelled in pain, and Cardin did nothing but grin. "Deja Vu, eh, Jauney boy?" Jaune smiled. He was losing, he was going to get clubbed by his worst enemy, but he was still smiling. "You got that right..."

Then came a laugh. From Cardin, but it wasn't that cold, heartless laugh he'd given him so many times before. This one was different, it was a heartwarming one. He dropped his club to his side and held out his hand. Jaune grabbed his hand, and now he was back on his feet. "Better luck next time, Jaune." Cardin playfully punched him in the shoulder, to which he did nothing but grin. "Yeah yeah, give me a moment, will you? I got something to...Sort out, first." He gave Cardin that look again. The look that meant 'My business, please don't intrude'.

Giving a sigh, he shrugged. "Alright, but don't make me come after you. I brought all that juice so everyone would have a chance, and that includes you." Jaune nodded, and turned to go towards the fountain. But then he felt Cardin's hand on his shoulder. "One more thing..." "What is it?" Jaune turned, his face full of curiousity. He wasn't nervous anymore. His fear was finally gone, but Cardin looked like there was a heavy weight on his back.

"I'm sorry." Jaune frowned. He wasn't expecting that. Cardin, the once tough old bully. Cardin, an armored titan that wouldn't let anything get through to him. Cardin, Cardin Winchester, apologizing to little Jaune Arc. "I'm sorry, and...Thanks for that help, if you can remember." Jaune's eyes wavered, mind spinning, trying to find that memory he was talking about, and then-

"Oh...That. You didn't have to thank me, we both would of died if-" "No, it's not just that. I'm grateful for that, and maybe you're right, but...We've both changed. For the better, and I really am thankful for that." Cardin smiled, and lightly punched Jaune on the chest. "Carry your arc strong, Arc." He turned, and walked back to the school.

Jaune stood there, and in the dark, one couldn't make out the expression he was making. But he was grinning. Most definitely a joyful smile. "Alright, then...I will!" Cardin's actions seemed to give him courage, because now Jaune was walking his way around the school to the fountain, where she was waiting.


	2. Tears of the Valkyrie

Surely, one of the more well-known of Beacon's graduates would be attending the party, no? Surely, that girl notorious for screwing so many things up but having fun at the same time would be dancing with her friends, yes? Surely, that little jiggly puff that loved spending time with comrades, that loved to do things her way, surely she, of all people, would most definitely be attending such a grand celebration!

So why wasn't she?

She wasn't even bouncing up and down on her bed. Instead, she was just sitting on the desk, barely moving, gazing out the window at the broken moon. Even those that barely knew Nora could tell that something wasn't right.

There wasn't any Nora in her. None at all.

And the first to notice her unlikely absence is her best friend. The door slowly creaked open, and Lie Ren stepped in.

"Nora, you-" He spotted the Valkyrie almost immediately. "Something wrong?" He quietly closed the door behind him, and made his way towards her. "Nora...?" He asked again, tone conveying a sense of worry.

After a long intense silence, the Valkyrie finally spoke with a broken shaking voice. "H-Hey, Ren..." Slowly, she turned her face, and Ren was shocked at what he saw.

Nora Valkyrie was crying.

"Nora, wh-What's going on?" Indeed, why such a happy girl cry now? Now at such a brilliant time for Graduates? Ah, but that was the exact reason why tears flowed from her eyes.

Ren quickly made his way over her, then wrapped his arms around her. Usually, hugs cheered her up at least a little, and that was something that Ren wanted to do as soon as possible. It was rare for him to see Nora sad. He hated it, he wanted her to be back to her old self as soon as possible.

After a few seconds, he let go and looked at her face. "Nora, why are you crying?" He repeated, this time his tone full of nothing but soft, heartwarming concern.

"I-It's..." Nora never had trouble telling Ren anything. They were best friends, and Nora trusted him with her life, but now, she knew for the first time what it felt like to doubt your trust in a best friend. "I...I don't..."

Ren stared in to her eyes. Ren and Nora had a special understanding of each other, a lot of the time they didn't have to use words to know what the other was trying to tell them. That just showed how strong their ties were to each other.

"I...Everyone's leaving, and-and...I'll never get to see them again b-because-" Nora stopped there, although it didn't matter if she continued because Ren finally understood the situation. Nora was crying because she would lose all her friends at Beacon. It was completely understandable, Ren felt the same once.

It was hard to read his blank expression. But then, Ren simply gave a small smile. "C'mon, Nora...I thought you were the one that taught me to have as much fun as possible before you leave your friends."

"H-Huh?" Nora squeaked, wiping tears off her face. "Wh-When did I..." Ren shook his head, and he moved towards Nora. Their foreheads connected. "Remember, when we were young, before Beacon when we met in school?" Nora gazed, trying to lock on to the memory he was talking about. It was rising, slowly, to her eyes, and then they widened in realization.

"O-Oh!"

_"Why does it matter if I have any friends anyway? We're all going to separate sooner or later so it doesn't matter."_

_"Silly! Don't you get it? Having fun is a great experience! So what, we'll all leave sooner or later, but it doesn't matter because all the fun we had, all the memories we made together, is still there! In our hearts!"_

"I..." She started tearing up again, but this time, it was not in sadness. "I was d-dumb, sorry R-" "Don't apologize, Nora. This is normal, we all feel the same some time. But it's all the more reason to stick with your friends, right?" Nora said nothing, but as time passed on, her tears stopped and a small smile formed on her face. "Right...!" "Good! I'm heading back to the dance, there are some people that I'm meeting up with. Meet you later?" "Got it!"

Ren walked towards the door, and left the room, gently shutting the door. Nora needed some time to get over the rest of her feelings, so she returned to sitting on the desk and staring outside. That's when she saw something strange.

"Huuuh...?" She took a closer look. Near the fountain, it looked like Jaune and a certain red-

The door opened, and Ren poked back in. "Forgot to mention, Cardin brought some red sap juice." And just like that, he left again. Nora stared, and then she grinned. "ALRIGHT!" Pumping her fists in the air, mind away from what was happening outside, Nora Valkyrie made her way out the door and to the celebration.


	3. Before the Cry, and the Playing of Cards

**Authors Note:Please know that I appreciate every single view, follow, favorite, review, whatever! But if you took your time to read, then atleast leave a quick review! Maybe why you chose not to follow this? Or why you didn't favorite it? Point out quirks, flaws, little good things, anything!**

_"AUGH!"_

"OH NO-Oh God, oh God, oh God-"

"Sheesh, that hurt-"

"I'm so sorry! Are you-"

"No, no, don't worry, I'm fine, really-"

"Let me help you up-Oh wait, no, oooh-"

"Oh-Just-LEAVE, YOU DUNCE!"

And it took only a few seconds for anyone inside the training hall to hear a loud bang of the closing door. Who was inside the training hall? You may be surprised, it's rather unlikely for those two to battle. But then again, they decided that it was better than just sitting around staring at each other, no interaction to happen at all. Sure, get in a bit of action and hopefully, they'd start being social, why not? Unfortunately, a _tiiiny_ mishap occurred, and the events that transpired after that were shown to you before this paragraph you are reading right now.

Having gotten knocked on to the floor, Weiss Schnee pushed herself on to her feet and dusted off her shimmering dress. Although it was her casual clothing, she decided to show it off a bit more. After all, today was a glorious day, and maybe it was time for the secretive masked snow white to be more exuberant.

As Weiss took her time to regain her shattered composure, somewhere else, in the main hall, where tables, chairs, and drinks were being set, an unlikely pair were setting out some of the drinks.

"Thanks for the help, it'd take a lot longer without some extra hands."

"Not a problem, I've been told to start being more friendly and social."

"Well, this definitely counts. Although I have to admit, it's kind of a strange feeling. Sure, I got my own team to help, but this is just..."

"No need to explain, I already know the story."

"Yeah, sorry for messing with your leader."

"It's fine. Been a long time, bygones be bygones."

A heavy crate, a loud grunt, and now plastic banging against each other as they were stacked evenly in the middle of the table. A rather large juice dispenser was set, and it was slowly being filled with red sap juice from a large glass jar by Cardin Winchester.

"So, Ren, tell me a bit more about yourself." Not taking his eyes off the pouring drink, Lie Ren took a small break from carrying the heavy crates.

"Alright...What do you want to know?"

"Well...Where'd you come from?"

"Oh, I come from the same place as Nora Valkyrie."

"Aah, that jumpy girl. She's really...Ah, not sure how to put it without offending you-"

"No worries, she's...Not...here..." Ren slowly let the words drip out of his mouth as he looked around. Didn't Nora say that she'd be here to help Ren? "Huh...That's weird..."

"You want to go check on her? I'm fine alone, you know." He set the now empty jar down, and uncapped another one. "It's fine, she's probably caught up on something else. Stuff like that happens a lot with Nora..." But deep in the corners of his mind, he felt something wasn't right. No, not felt, knew. He just _knew_ it.

"Well, I've found that she really likes red sap. This juice is made of the same thing, when you see her, tell her and maybe she'll come here faster?" "Alright, I'll remember."

A familiar blonde made his way through the tables and crowd, looking around until he found what he was looking for. "Oh no." Cardin muttered, letting the jar fall to smack himself in the head. "Huh?" Ren turned towards Cardin, and looked at where he was facing. "What's wr-Oh, it's Jaune!"

As Jaune made his way towards them, Ren wondered why Cardin was upset. "Cardin, I was wondering where you were! About the-" "No, it's fine, we can start now if you want-" "You sure? You look a bit busy." "It's fine, really, I'll ask Dove to get the rest for me." "Alright. Oh, hi Ren!" It seemed that the leader had finally taken notice of his fellow team mate. "Somethin' I'm missing, or...?" Jaune quickly gave a summary of how Cardin and him agreed to have a small spar to see how far they had gotten since their first. That first, rather pathetic one.

"Aah, I see. Well, good luck to the both of you. I won't be sticking around here till later." Cardin gave a nod, while Jaune simply waved. Ren turned and left for the door, heading towards the missing girl. The party would start quite soon and he knew she didn't want to miss it.

"Well...Out we go?" Jaune asked, rather nervous, turning towards Cardin as he smiled.

"Sure, let's go!" And just like that, the leaders of two teams made their way outside for a small spar.

The party would start quite soon after that. In fact, many students were already there, having so many deciding to come early. One of these students was a rather well-known one in more than just one way. She was looking for some body, a girl, and she seemed to be having trouble.

It never really was that easy. After all, that special girl had a knack for blending in with the crowd, whether intended or not, while the searcher had an opposite talent.


	4. A Torn Arc

It was before the celebration, before it even began to start setting up. It was the night before, where two certain people had a quick chat. Perhaps not a chat, more of a...discussion.

Jaune Arc quietly opened the door to him and his team's dorm. Fortunately for him, Ren and Nora weren't there. They were probably somewhere else playing a game or maybe Ren was just going along with more of Nora's 'noranigans', a term frequently used by team JNPR to refer to Nora's silly acts.

So the Valkyrie and the Jade Dragon were no where to be found. What the Arc did find, however, was...

"Pyrrha!" The redhead was studying her notes. She always did try to be the best she could in class, and here she was making a perfect example of that fact.

Looking up, green orbs met blue, and Pyrrha stood up. "Oh, Jaune! Is...Is something wrong?" Pyrrha sensed the distress in his voice, and when that happened, she knew to always take Jaune's words seriously. And this time, the worry was showing on his face.

"I..." The blonde gave a sigh, looking away. "I think we should...Have a talk." Pyrrha gave him a strange look. You didn't need an expert to tell you that Pyrrha was confused from Jaune's words. "A talk? Alright. What's it about?" Carefully moving her notes to under her pillow, she set her hands on her lap. She knew better than to ask for another time, having known Jaune for so long. Best to confront the issue now than later.

Jaune held his breath, and let out a sigh. He sat down on his bed, and looked down at his lap as he twiddled his thumbs. Pyrrha allowed him ten seconds of silence to himself before finally making her move. "Jaune? You said you wanted to talk..."

Jaune was starting to have second thoughts about this. Maybe it was best to forget about this, maybe he should just move this to a different time...But he knew he couldn't, otherwise all he'd learn through the years of working together with his friend-with his team, would of been a waste. "Pyrrha, I think it's time to...It's not easy to say-" He shook his head, resting his elbows on his knees and his head on his hands.

Pyrrha stood up and made her way to Jaune, then sat down next to him. She gave him a small pat on the back. "Take as much time as you want, I'm listening." Jaune gave her a small but visible smile. Of course she was gentle with him in this time of anxiety, but he wondered if she'd still feel the same after this day.

"I think it's time we talk about...Our relationship." Pyrrha frowned at his chosen words. Relationship? What was there to talk about? It seemed rather clear to her. "What do you mean? We're friends, right?" She was slowly starting to become afraid of what Jaune would say. Would he just reject her and consider her as nothing more than a team mate? She knew better, of course not. Friends they were, and always will be, just like with the rest of their team. Obviously, this had to do with something else.

And sure enough, Jaune proved her thoughts true. But it did more than that, Pyrrha's heart gave a little jump at those first words. "Of course, best friends, just like Ren and Nora, but..." She thought of herself as a mentor, teammate and friend, but best friend? An irresistible smile showed on her face, and Jaune took notice, and he gave her his own smile. It lasted no more than about a minute, both eyes staring at the other, memories of past experiences flushing through their mind. But Jaune knew he had to let it out now, no more time to waste.

Now or never.

"But...We've done-" He sighed, and stood up, walking away from Pyrrha and towards the window. He stared up at the torn moon. "We've been...acted...more than best friends. We've even nearly been caught doing...Well-" He looked back at the redhead to see that her hair wasn't the only part of her that was red anymore. Soon, he felt his face burn, but he shook it away. "Kissing...That's not exactly stuff that best friends would do, so..." Pyrrha was getting a hold of where this was going. Did Jaune really think of her that way? Pyrrha had a thought or two now and then about possibly being Jaune's boyfriend, but...He had so many other choices! All the women in the world, and he would choose Pyrrha?

It was a lingering thought, one that never really went away every time Pyrrha's eyes caught Jaune's. "So you're wondering if we should just...Do it? Just announce that we're-" She chose the wrong words.

"No-No, not announce! Just-Ugh!" Jaune groaned and sat down on the desk, ruffling the hair on his head and leaving an embarrassed Pyrrha. He knew he should be doing it now, but he was so tempted to cut off the conversation and pretend that it never happened. Maybe he should do it, but if he did cut it off he would have to restart it again.

"I think...I've been having some feelings for you, Pyrrha, that's not exactly secret, and who knows? Maybe you feel the same for me." She nodded in agreement. True, she did sometimes feel that way. "But is it really for the best? I mean-I'm just Jaune Ar-" He didn't have enough time to finish that sentence because there were three knocks on their door. Jaune stood up, and took a quick glance at Pyrrha, who had just looked over at the door.

Who was it?

"Hold on-Sorry-" Jaune quickly made his way over to the door, to which Pyrrha replied,"It's fine, it's not your fault." Opening it slightly, he took a step outside and shut the door behind him, leaving Pyrrha alone.

She wasn't counting, but she suspected that it must have been more than just a few minutes. Not near an hour, not that long, but not exactly short, either. In fact, it sounded as if Jaune had left her, as she heard the sound of multiple footsteps leading away from the room.

She zoned out, but when the door had finally opened, she heard Jaune call out, "-Ruby, just a second-" Ruby Rose? Why was Jaune talking to her? Dark thoughts started bubbling in her head, but she knew better. Jaune wouldn't do that to Pyrrha...

...Right?

The door closed, and Jaune sighed. "Pyrrha, I'm really sorry, but something came up. I gotta go-" And just like that, Jaune left again, leaving Pyrrha alone.

What happened outside? Where was Jaune going? Why now, of all times?

Pyrrha found herself leaving her notes under the pillow, not bothering to take them out again. Soon, she was lying down on her bed, letting her thoughts roam freely.

"Jaune..." She muttered, eyes gazing at the ceiling.


	5. A Sting Reversed

**Authors Note:Updates WILL be coming more slowly, I've got school, home, and I also have something important I'm working on. I AM, and really AM, determined to finish this story! Perhaps near the end of the year? If you are willing to stand that long to see to the finish, then thank you very much! **

Amazing how looking different ways can easily end up in such a crash. Even more amazing was the fact that the victims were THREE people, all of which had not looked where they were going.

"L-Let me go!-"

"No!"

"Why not!-"

"Because you're going to tear him apart if I do."

"So what-"

An inescapable groan exited the lips of the ribbon-less Fauna as she dragged along the Little Dragon down a hall, her grip tightening on the collar of her vest.

An idea hitting her in the brain, Yang forced her feet down, the heels skidding across the ground in an attempt to at least slow the dragging, but it did nothing. Blake was simply too strong. Next, she attempted to peel Blake's fingers off her collar but found that that would not work either, Blake merely shaking off the futile attempts. "Let-Me-Go!" Yang whined, arms flailing like petals scattered in a wind tunnel. "No way!" Growled Blake, glancing back at Yang. "I'm not-"

Next came some random grunting and a crash which resulted, in a way, the Dragon getting what she wanted; Blake let go, although she did land on her head. "Ow-" And soon, she found herself buried under Blake's back. Muffling noises erupted from her covered mouth, and now both her legs and arms were wildly swinging around. "Mffhmmfh!" What came next was a rather high pitched voice.

"OhmyGod, Blake! Yang!" Their red leader extended an arm to help Blake off of the choking blonde. "I wasn't looking where I was going and-" She was interrupted by Yang coughing out the remnants of Blake's weight on her chest. "I-I'm not complaining-"

Once Blake was sure Yang would be fine(which didn't take more than about three seconds, really), she turned back towards Ruby and saw that her face was red with embarrassment. That couldn't be from what just happened now...After all, she said she wasn't looking where she was going, didn't she? So why was that? What would be so distracting that a leader of a team couldn't even pay attention to their steps? Of course, this would prompt the fellow team mate to ask what the issue was.

"Ruby, is something wrong?" At those words, Ruby looked backward. Blake, curious, leaned to see what the distressed Riding Hood was staring at, but all she saw was the door that led to the training hall. Ruby muttered something that was inaudible even to the Fauna's sensitive ears.

"What was that? You're talking too low," said Yang, but Ruby turned to face the two and quickly squeaked out, "Nothing! I'm just-You know, bit of-What are YOU doing here?" She rested her hands on her hips, a commanding look on her face. Of course, she's done that enough times to let everyone at Beacon know it was just a ruse. "Ruby, c'mon-" Blake would of kept pushing, but Yang decided to answer cheerfully. "Blake's dragging me away from a fauna-discriminating-" "Yang!" Blake shrieked, clearly not wanting Ruby to hear of their own little problem. And of course, thanks to Yang Troll Long, she heard.

Quite clearly.

"What? Who?!" Ruby's face changed from distress to intense ire, hands reaching for Crescent Rose. Blake, however, had other plans, and quickly pulled her arms away from the dormant weapon.

"Ruby-Don't, it's not that big of an-" It was clear that she disagreed completely. "It IS! Who was it, tell me!" "I-" Blake sighed, shaking her head. "Only a stranger, but we can't just beat him up!" "Sure we can!" Retorted Yang, who was cracking her fists. "I wouldn't mind getting in trouble just to knock some sense in to someone! I've done it before, I'll do it again!" A low whimper of discontent found its way out of Blake's throat. "Didn't we already say it was a misunder-" Yang realized that Blake was thinking of the wrong thing. "No, not that one with him! We're pretty much pals now, I meant something else!"

As retort and complaint threw back at each other, Ruby used the time to think it all over in her head, coming to a conclusion that reflected her developed leadership skills. Arms crossed, she spoke quickly and sternly, "Girls, c'mon, maybe we should just let this go. It wouldn't be the first time."

Yang looked at her sister, shocked. "How could you say that? You know how much Blake means to me-to us!" Lilac eyes glanced back at yellow ones, but quickly returned to focus on Ruby's. "I can't just let-"

Yang stopped. Ruby, confused but guessing what was wrong, looked behind her and saw-

"Weiss!"

The heiress scowled, arms crossed. "I thought you would of left by now. What are you two doing here, anyway?"

"We-I was going to leave, but I bumped in to Blake and Yang and...And..." Something struck out at her. Blake and Yang. "I bumped in to them, which counts as two people...With me, that'd be thr-" She looked back, prompting Yang to turn on her heel.

Blake was gone.

"I'll go find her!" Yang ran off without sparing a single glance at her comrades. Ruby was at a loss of words, and looked back at Weiss, who too look confused. However, she had something on her mind that she wanted out.

"Ruby, talk, now." Walking past her, she reached out and grabbed on to her hood, dragging her. "Huh? Wait-Where are you going!?-"


End file.
